My Heart and Soul
by Kristen3
Summary: An attempt to make an ill David feel better leads Niles to remember a night long ago. One-shot. Rating is for innuendo.


Niles walked into the nursery, having heard David's cries on the baby monitor. The poor thing had been sick lately. Daphne had been up with him the past several nights, so Niles had volunteered to take care of all of his son's needs for tonight. When he stood near the crib, he watched for a moment as David continued to express his discomfort. Niles picked the baby up. "Shh," he whispered. He hoped that simply holding him would help calm David. But after a few minutes, it became clear that it was simply not working. In desperation, Niles looked around the room, hoping to find some clue as to what might make David feel better.

Then Niles noticed the CD player. Daphne had insisted on having one in here, saying the music would be good for the baby. Niles had obliged, and made sure to get a large selection of classical CD's to go along with it. Though Daphne appreciated her husband's thoughtfulness and concern for their son's development, she had purchased an equally large collection of children's CD's. But Niles was in a hurry right now, so he simply hit "Play" without bothering to check what disc was currently in the player.

To his great surprise, the music which began to play was neither a piece from one of the great composers, nor a song meant for children. It was an instrumental, one that Niles recognized at once. "Heart and soul, I fell in love with you. Heart and soul." He began whispering the words to his son. "Oh, David, your mother and I sang that song together one night. She came here, thinking I had a date, and she offered to help cook. I had no date, but I didn't have the heart to tell her so. And before I knew it, we were chopping vegetables. Your mother made something so simple seem magical. We started singing together, and I even started to forget that I didn't really have a date. That was a long time ago, before your mom knew I loved her."

As Niles had been speaking, David had gradually calmed down. The baby was now sleeping peacefully in his father's arms. Niles kissed his son's forehead, and prepared to return him to the crib. But when he looked up, he saw Daphne standing in the doorway. "Oh," Niles said, slightly embarrassed. "I'm sorry if I woke you."

Daphne smiled. "You didn't. I got up to go to the loo, and I realized you weren't in bed."

"David was crying earlier, but I think he's feeling better now," Niles said.

"It sure looks that way. I heard what you were telling him, about that night when we were chopping vegetables. I've played that song for him before. He seems to like it." Daphne walked into the room now, looking at her son in Niles' arms. Then she looked up at her husband, kissing his cheek. "Thank you."

Niles blushed, feeling a sudden warmth as he kissed her. "What for?"

"For taking care of David. But more importantly, for showing me that you still remember that night."

"My love, how could I ever forget? Even though I wasn't able to ask you out as I'd planned, I still got to spend the evening with you. I knew then that, no matter what Frasier told me, I just couldn't give up on you."

Daphne smiled at him once more, but this was decidedly more mischievous than before. "I'm glad you didn't."

Niles' heart raced. He began to hyperventilate. He could think of nothing except the way he wanted to hold Daphne in his arms.

"Darling, I think you should put David down so he can get some rest."

Again, Niles blushed. "Right." He placed his son inside the crib. Daphne covered him with a blanket, before kissing him goodnight.

Daphne took her husband's hand then. They returned to their room, neither one speaking a word. When they were finally standing on either side of the bed, Daphne spoke. "I kept you waiting so long before giving you me heart. But you were patient, and ever since, you've made me feel like the luckiest woman in the world."

"My love, even after all these years, I still find it hard to believe that you're here, and that we're going to spend the rest of our lives together. You gave me a son, something I've dreamed of for years, and never thought I would have."

By this time, Daphne was tired of talking. She climbed onto the bed and "walked" on her knees over to where he stood. She kissed him for a long moment.

It was quite a while before either of them went to sleep. Often, taking care of David's needs, on top of all the other things they both had to do, left little time to spend together. But Niles knew that as long as he lived, he would make sure Daphne knew how much he loved and appreciated her. Because she was his heart and soul.

**The End**


End file.
